The Truth About Jessica- Part Two of the Johanna Castle Series
by abbyfillion22
Summary: Johanna Castle, now 13 years old, tries to unravel the mystery surrounding her best friend's death before her parents do.
1. Chapter 1

A janitor wheels his mop bucket down the hall of Marlowe Prep School. The walls are lined with pine green lockers. He crosses through the old gymnasium that smells like dust and pine oil.

The wood floors squeak under his feet as his bucket gets caught in a crack in the ground. He swears under his breath as water splashes out of it and leaves a puddle. He shrugs and leaves the puddle where it is and continues to the door at the other side of the gym.

"Girl's Locker Room," the sign next to the door says. Under it is a second sign that says the same thing in Spanish, French, German, Latin, and Braille; a mechanism used to help the students learn common names in different languages.

The janitor always rolled his eyes when seeing these signs around the school. How many people actually took the time to run their fingers across the raised bumps just to learn what the word "Bathroom" feels like in Braille? It was just another thing that he had to clean on his daily rounds.

He haphazardly ran his greasy rag over the sign as he passed it and pushed his way into the locker room. It was dark; the only windows were up on the walls and were covered in frosted glass for privacy. The late afternoon light barely made any light at all in the huge room.

The janitor flipped on the light and there was a low hum as the old wiring pulsed to life. He sighed as he dropped his mop onto the tile floor and hunched over and started to clean.

He maneuvered the mop down the aisles between wooden benches and lockers before reaching the last row. He heard an odd sound as he pushed further into the room.

_Plink, plink, plink,plink_. He heard the sound of something dripping onto a hard surface. He set the mop against the wall and checked the faucets and shower heads for a leak. Nothing; everything was bone dry. Then where was that sound coming from?

He pulled back the final shower curtain and stumbled back in shock. "Shit!" he screamed, putting a hand over his heart.

A teenage girl in the Marlowe Prep uniform hung from the curtain rod, her striped tie wrapped around her neck. A trail of blood went from her mouth, down the front of her white collared shirt, and onto her skirt. It pooled together at the hem of her skirt and a steady drip of dark red fell onto the white tile and down the drain.

Thirteen-year-old Johanna Castle sat at the kitchen counter, a Seventeen magazine in front of her. She was dressed in her green Marlowe Prep School uniform and her long wavy brown hair fell onto the glossy pages. She pushed the locks back out of her face as she flipped the page.

Her eyes are revealed to be a stunning blue; a trait she had inherited from her father. Strangers at the market always stopped her to compliment her eyes, and the girls at school were envious of her hair. She was tall for her age, like her parents were, and she was a state-ranked sprinter on the school's track team. Johanna was well liked at school and earned straight A's, which her teachers credited to her older sister, Alexis; an academic legend at Marlowe.

Her grades had nothing to do with Alexis, though. She struggled to maintain her GPA because of her dyslexia, which made math her worst subject. Her mom, Kate, spent hours at night helping her with her algebra homework.

"Johanna, are you ready to leave?" her dad, Rick, called from the other room.

Johanna rolled her eyes, only her parents still called her by her full name. Her friends called her J, a nickname her uncle Esposito had given her when she was a baby. "Yes, Daddy," she said. "I've been waiting for _you_."

Rick came into the kitchen, fastening the final button on his shirt. He grabbed an orange from the bowl in the center of the island and stared at her. "What's that you're reading?" he asked, reaching over and pulling the magazine towards him. "Seventeen?" he read the cover.

She snatched it back from him. "Mom got me a subscription."

Rick took it back from her and proceeded to flip through it. "Shouldn't you be reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or something?"

Kate entered, carrying a stack of police reports.

"Do you know what your daughter's reading?" Rick asked her, holding up the magazine with a photo of the hippest teen actress on the front.

"So?" Kate shrugged, setting the papers on the counter.

"She's _thirteen," _Rick reasoned.

"I read that when I was her age," said Kate, sweeping her hair away from her eyes and adjusting her blazer.

Johanna grinned at her mother, who was the more relaxed of her two parents.

"Yes, and you also had a motorcycle and tattoo," Rick said.

"And look how I turned out," Kate said. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed her husband on the cheek. "Relax, dear, she's not going to turn seventeen just by reading it."

Johanna stuck her tongue out at her father and took the magazine from him as her phone vibrated in her jacket pocket. She pulled it out and read the text from her friend, Emily.

Rick started to peel his orange as he glowered at the wretched magazine. He knew what kind of tips they gave in the advice columns of those things, and they weren't How to Ace Your PSATs.

Johanna squealed as she shut her phone off and put it back into her pocket. "No school today!" she shouted.

"Why?" Rick asked looking out the window. It was mid June, and he saw no reason to have a weather cancelation.

Johanna wrinkled her brow. "I don't know, she didn't say. Emily said that Rory said that her mom said that she heard on the news that they were just giving us the day off."

"Emily said that her…" Rick repeated, trying to work out what his daughter had just said.

Kate cleared her throat. "Ahem, Rick can I talk to you? In private?" she jerked her head towards his office.

Rick followed her and leaned up against his desk. He reached for Kate's hands and pulled her against him. "What happened?"

She sat in his lap and draped her arms around his shoulders. "Something happened at Marlowe."

Rick frowned. "Oh no."

"The janitor found one of Johanna's friends, Jessica Donogough, hung in the showers. They think it was suicide but CST says that it might have been a homicide," said Kate.

Rick groaned. Jess was Johanna's best friend. They practically did _everything_ together. "How do we tell Johanna?"

"She'll find out eventually but I think you should tell her now."

"Why me?!" he asked incredulously.

"Because I have to do the paperwork," she said, standing up and walking away before he could argue.

Johanna's jaw went slack when her dad told her. "Who was it?" she asked, biting her lip.

"Jess," he said gently.

She sighed and stared at her hands. "I had just talked to her yesterday… and now she's dead." She and Jess had been best friends since the second grade. They spent every free moment together; after school, they always did their homework at each other's houses. They were co-captains of the track team and were always running around the city together for hours at a time.

Johanna remembered one time on a particularly long run, she had sprained her ankle on Madison Avenue and Jess had carried her fireman style all the way home. A running partner like that is irreplaceable.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," said Rick, hugging her. "Are you okay?"

She shrugged him off. "I'm fine," she said, picking at her cuticles distractedly. "Did you and Mom get assigned to her case?"

"Yeah, we did," he said.

She looked at him. "I know Jess, she would never kill herself. She loved life too much to do something like that," she muttered.

Rick nodded.

"Will you tell me when you find something?" she asked.

"Of course," Rick said quietly, searching Johanna's eyes for signs of pain. She showed none; a skill she had learned from Kate over the years.

He stood up from the barstool. "We have to go to work now, but I'll stop by around lunchtime and we can go out for a slice," he said.

Johanna shook her head. "You don't have to, I'll be fine. I can warm something up."

Rick took this as 'I want to be alone'. "Okay, sweetie, have a good day. Don't watch too much TV," he said.

"I won't," she said, flopping down on the red couch and pulling out her phone.

"See ya, sweetie," said her mom, kissing her on the head.

"Bye, mom," said Johanna as her parents left to go to her best friend's crime scene.

The loft was dead silent during the day with everyone gone. She sat and stared at her phone; getting tweets about what fun things everyone else was doing on the surprise day off.

She thought about her best friend; hung from the school shower curtain. The thought brought tears to her eyes and she brushed them away, even though no one was there to judge her.

_I'll find out what happened to you, Jess, _she thought. _I promise._


	2. Chapter 2

Johanna quickly changed out of her uniform and into a pair of jeans and a blouse. Grabbing her purse, phone, and keys, she hurried out of the apartment and down to the lobby.

"Off school today, Miss Castle?" the doorman, Frank asked her.

"Yup," she responded. She and Frank got along well. She occasionally brought him cupcakes from the bakery down the block in exchange for him keeping quiet when she snuck out at night. It was a good relationship; one that would never be broken as long as the bakery was open.

"Can I get you a cab, Miss Castle?" asked Frank.

"Yes, please," she said, putting on her Ray Bans.

Frank stepped out onto the street and hailed a cab for her with a wave of the hand. "Here you are," he said, opening the door for her.

"Thanks," she smiled, slipping him a ten. "I'll bring you something on my way back."

"Very good, Miss Castle," he said, shutting the door.

Johanna settled into the seat, placing her bag at her feet.

"Where to?" the driver asked.

She gave him Jessica's address and he entered it into the GPS. It was only fifteen minutes away, but with the morning commute, it would be at least thirty. She sighed and pulled out her cell phone.

She was hit with a pang of sadness when she looked at her lock screen. It was a photo of her and Jess at the Hamptons on the beach. She and Jess looked almost identical; same long hair, same body type (thanks to their daily running schedule), same PINK bikini in under a Marlowe Track Team jacket. At first glance, you'd think the two were twins, until you looked closer and noticed that their facial features were completely different.

Johanna had big blue eyes, a small nose, and thin lips, while Jessica had small eyes, a round nose, and large Angelina Jolie-like lips. The two had been like sisters; ones that always got along and let each other borrow clothes.

She slid the lock bar across the screen and her Twitter popped up.

She went to Jessica's feed and read her last tweet. "**JessicaD**: Just had ice cream w/ J_Castle, going 2 meet SW at MPS #Rebel."

The time said 7:43PM under it; right after Jessica had left her apartment. They had made sundaes after their run and Jess had said that she needed to leave early.

Johanna wondered who "SW" was and why they were meeting at Marlowe Prep so late at night. She could only assume it was a boy; why else would she hashtag "rebel" unless she was sneaking off to meet a boy? And why hadn't Jess told her? They told each other _everything_.

She was pondering what other secrets her friend kept from her when the cab pulled up in front of the Donohough's building. She paid the driver and the doorman opened the door for her.

"Hello, Johanna," said the doorman. She spent so much time at Jess's, the doorman knew her by name. "Are you here to see Jessica?" he asked, shutting the door behind her.

"Yes. We have the day off today," said Johanna.

"Go ahead up," he said. He must not have heard what happened yet. "I'll buzz her and let her know you're coming up," he reached for the intercom.

"Oh, that's not necessary," Johanna said hurriedly. "She knows I'm here, I just texted her," she lied.

The doorman hesitated. "Are you sure…"

"Of course," she said, handing him a twenty and hurrying to the elevator.

She rode up to the thirteenth floor and ran to apartment M41.

She glanced left and right to make sure that no one was watching. Then she rummaged in the plastic plant next to the door before coming up with a silver key.

Jess was always forgetting hers, and this key had spared them both hours of waiting around for someone to let them in.

She quickly slipped the key in the lock and pushed the door open. She knew that Jess's parents wouldn't be home until 6, but it was the maid she was worried about. She never came at a consistent time.

Johanna slid the key into her jeans pocket and hurried past the living room and up the stairs. Jess's room was the last one on the left; the door left slightly ajar.

She had just been in this room two days ago. It looked exactly as it had before.

Johanna didn't know exactly what she was looking for when she started rummaging through Jess's stuff. Because she wasn't an idiot, she had donned her winter gloves before touching anything. She knew from her parent's conversations at the dinner table that the cops would look for prints during a murder investigation. She didn't need to be arrested and sent to juvie for a B&E.

She opened drawers and went through her closet, looking for anything that might be a clue. There was a pile of dirty clothes on the floor of her closet. She sifted through them, searching the pockets and tossing them aside. At the bottom of the pile was a pine green sweatshirt; one that she had never seen Jess wear before. It had the Marlowe Prep crest on the front. She flipped it over and the name "Warner" was printed on the back in white Academy font.

"SW!" she muttered to herself. She pressed her nose to it. It definitely wasn't a girl's sweatshirt, it reeked of cologne. Was Jessica seeing someone that she didn't know about?

She dropped it back into the pile and pushed it back into the closet, leaving everything as it had been. She tiptoed over to Jess's desk where she found her diary. It was a thick leather bound book with yellowed pages; a gift sent to Jess from her father when he had visited England.

Did she dare read it? She knew that Jess wrote _everything _in this journal. She flashed back to a day about a year ago when they were stuck inside on a rainy day.

Jess had pulled the journal out from under her mattress and held it up for Johanna to see. "It's beautiful," she had told her friend.

"J, if I ever die," Jess had said to her, "I want you to destroy this. I keep my deepest darkest secrets in here."

Taking it as a joke at the time, Johanna had nodded and said, "Of course I will, Jess, you can count on me."

Jess eyed her questioningly. "And do you promise not to read it?" she asked, holding out her pinkie.

Johanna crossed her heart and shook Jess's pinkie, "Promise."

Looking back at that day, it seemed almost ironic that she was holding it now, the day after her death. There had to be evidence somewhere in these pages as to what happened to Jess.

Before she could decide whether to read it or not, she heard a knock on the front door.

"NYPD!" she heard someone yell.

_Oh no_, she thought, recognizing her mother's voice outside the apartment.

Panicking, she shoved the diary into her jacket and tiptoed over to the side window where the fire escape was. She and Jess had used it on many occasions to sneak out during sleepovers to go to parties. Unlike Frank, Jess's doorman would jump at the chance to rat her out to her parents if it meant getting a tip.

She threw open the window and climbed out onto the rusty platform. She leaned over the banister and looked to the street below.

Johanna saw her parent's cruiser along with two other cars parked directly below her.

"Shit," she muttered, beginning the long climb down the ladder. "Shit, shit, shit. I am so grounded!"

Soon, the cops would realize that Mr. and Mrs. Donohough weren't home and go look for them at their work. When they'd go to their cars, they would definitely see her.

When she was about three stories up, the detectives emerged from the building. Her mom was telling Ryan and Esposito something and they stopped a few feet away from their cars.

She froze, waiting for them to spot her.

Luckily, her dad started saying something and pointed down the street. They all turned to look to where he was pointing. "Maybe that camera saw her leave the building last night," she heard him say.

Johanna took that chance to climb the rest of the way down. She cringed as each step on the ladder made a loud plinking sound, almost giving her away when she saw her dad glance in her direction. The last platform was still about ten feet off the ground. She swore under her breath as she carefully lowered herself down, holding onto the last rung of the ladder and dangling her feet off the edge.

She was still hanging from the ladder when the four detectives turned. She squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath, thinking, "If I can't see them, they can't see me." Her arms began to ache and her grip on the bar became slack.

She exhaled when her dad pointed up the next street and they all focused their attention to a nearby building.

Johanna hit the ground with a thud, the force of the fall making her legs tingle. She ducked behind the cars and sprinted down the sidewalk, relieved and quite surprised that she hadn't been caught.

Castle followed Beckett, Ryan, and Esposito out of the apartment building.

"Find out where the parents work and contact them there," Beckett told them.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone descending swiftly down the fire escape. He turned, and squinted into the sun. It looked like… a girl? He could just make out her long brown hair, whipping around her face in the breeze.

He used his hand to block out the sun. Was that… Johanna? What the hell was his daughter doing here?! He realized that she must have just been in the Donohough's apartment, and gotten vital information at that, for she was cradling something under her jacket.

"Hey," he said, pointing down the street, away from where Johanna was, "Maybe the camera from that building saw her leave the apartment last night."

The detectives turned to look down the street.

"No, it's too far away," said Ryan.

He saw Johanna climb further down the ladder and stop at the last platform. She swung her legs over the side and grasped the rung, dangling five feet above the ground.

Castle flinched, stalling so his daughter could escape. "What about that one?" he pointed to a second building to their left.

As he said this, Johanna dropped to the ground and ducked behind Ryan's cruiser. He couldn't help but grin at his daughter's sneakiness. She was just like Beckett; always having to know the truth.

He watched as Johanna ran to the front of the building where she hailed a cab. He made a mental note to ask her what evidence she had found when he got home.


	3. Chapter 3

As promised, Johanna stopped at the bakery and picked up a cupcake for Frank the doorman.

She wrapped Jess's diary in her jacket and hurried through the lobby, shoving the cupcake bag into Frank's hands without waiting for a response.

She pounded her floor button in the elevator over and over, impatient to get upstairs. She tapped her foot as the elevator crept up to her floor.

When she got into the loft, she rushed upstairs to her room and locked her door. Throwing the jacket on her bed, she sat down at her desk and opened the diary to the last page with writing on it.

Johanna felt slightly guilty about breaking her promise to Jess, but she knew that the police would have read it eventually if she left it there.

She studied Jess's familiar cramped cursive handwriting. She made her A's like a computer would: a hook on top and then a loop. Johanna had always teased Jess about her cursive; a skill that no one used anymore. But it was a distinguishing feature about her friend, and now it felt comforting.

Thursday February 12, 2027

Dear Diary,

SW called me today and asked to meet me the Marlowe track tomorrow night! I don't want to tell J about him yet until I know him better. What if he disappoints me? That would just make me look stupid if I start to brag about him, then it doesn't turn out well. I hate keeping secrets from J, she never keeps them from me, but it's for her own good that she doesn't know. SW said that he's going to bring Molly tonight. Can't wait!

That was her very last entry before her death. She had met the mysterious SW at the track, and then he killed her. But why? And who the hell was "Molly"?

She flipped to the Wednesday entry, already feeling like she knew nothing about her best friend.

Dear Diary,

SW and I met at the park today after school. If my parents knew, they would ground my ass and put bars on my windows like in Harry Potter. My mom kept telling me what trouble he was, and that they kept us apart for a good reason, but he seems so nice! They don't know the new SW. They only see him on the surface. If they got to know him, I know they'd like him. How could they not?

The front door slammed, making Johanna jump. She shut the diary and slid it into her desk drawer.

"Johanna!" her father called. "I brought lunch!"

She quickly fixed her hair in the mirror and skipped out to the kitchen. "Hi, Daddy!" she said cheerfully, giving him a hug.

"Hey pumpkin," he said, setting the bag of takeout on the counter.

She dug into the bag, pulling out cartons of Mandarin chicken, rice, and steamed vegetables. "You didn't have to come home, Daddy, I could have ordered in myself," she said, taking a seat on the barstool.

"I didn't want you to get lonely," he said nonchalantly.

She kept quiet as she dug into the chicken with her chopsticks.

"So…" he said, "what did you do this morning?"

Johanna froze, the meat halfway to her mouth. "Oh, y'know, just hung around, took a walk," she said, slowly chewing.

"Oh, yeah, I thought I saw you on the West Side," said Rick, raising an eyebrow.

"I did walk there, yes," she said, hiding her face behind the box of rice.

Rick nodded. "That's a pretty far way to walk."

She shut her eyes and sighed. He must have seen her climb down the fire escape.

He smiled and nudged her with his elbow. "It's okay, sweetie, I won't tell your mom. So what did you find at Jess's?"

She set the food down and stared at him. "You first. What did you find about her murder?"

Rick shook his head. "I don't want you getting involved with this case, Johanna, it could be dangerous."

She rolled her eyes. "Daddy, you know that I'll figure it out either way. So we can both work together and tell each other what we know or we can work apart and you'll soon find crucial evidence going missing."

He paused. "Just like your mother," he muttered. "All right, here's what I know…"

Johanna sat up straighter.

"It wasn't suicide, but the killer wanted us to think it was," he said.

"Why?"

"Because it would turn suspicion away from him-"

"-Or her," Johanna interjected.

"The med team said that there were traces of marijuana and alcohol in her system."

_Molly,_ thought Johanna. _"SW said that he's bringing Molly tonight"_

"Her blood alcohol level was extremely high, so we're thinking that the killer got her drunk and hung her while she was out," he said. "Did you know Jess was into that sort of thing?"

Johanna shook her head. "No, but it wouldn't surprise me at this point."

Rick crinkled his brow. "Why? What did you find?"

She stared at her lap.

Rick put his arm around her and pulled her into his chest. "Sweetie, I know it's hard, but the more we know, the better chance we'll be able to find her killer."

"But why does it matter, Dad?" she said, her lip quivering, "Jess is already dead, digging up her past and tarnishing her memory isn't going to make it any better. I don't want to remember her this way. I want to remember her as my best friend who I knew everything about and loved every part of her. Finding her killer isn't going to bring her back; it's not going to make it right."

Rick took a deep breath. "No, it's not going to make it right. But it's going to bring Jess justice. She didn't deserve to die that way, no matter what she was into."

Johanna stood up and circled around the barstool, giving her a moment to wipe her eyes. She walked to her room and came back with Jess's diary. "You can read it," she said, "but only the last two pages."

Rick took the heavy book from her. "This is what you took from her room?" he said, flipping to the last page.

"Yeah," she shrugged, putting her hands in her pockets. "I kind of promised to destroy it if she ever died. But I think it will help find the killer."

Rick read the two entries and put his face in his hands. "Do you know who SW is?"

She shook her head. "No. Jess never said anything about him. But I found a boy's sweatshirt in her closet with the name 'Warner' on the back. I think she was dating him."

"We'll have to get that sweatshirt to get some DNA. It sounds like this 'SW' was the last one to see her alive that night," said Rick, closing the book. "Seems like Jess got involved with some nasty people."

"I had no clue," she muttered. "I could have stopped her if I had known."

"There's nothing you could have done," said Rick. "Don't blame yourself."

She shrugged. "I know but… I feel responsible. I mean, she was my best friend. Don't you think I should have known these things about her?"

Rick held up the diary. "She said so herself, she was going to tell you soon, if things worked out." He took her hands. "Try not to worry about it, sweetheart. I have to get back to work, but by the time we get home, we'll have a suspect and hopefully a probable cause," he said, putting his coat on. "Don't leave the building; I don't want you getting into any more trouble."

"But, Daddy-" she began to object.

"No buts. I'll tell Frank to make sure you don't leave," he said.

"That's so unfair!" she protested, stomping her foot.

"Love you!" he said, closing the front door behind him.

Johanna pulled her Marlowe Prep School 2026 yearbook from her shelf. She skipped ahead to the index in the back and wrote down the name of everyone with the last name Warner. She was determined to figure out who SW was before the cops did.

There were three boys with the initials 'SW'; a junior, Seth Warner, a freshman, Samuel Warner, and an eighth grader, Sandler Warner.

She recognized Sandler from biology class. He was cute; tall with brown hair and blue eyes. Jess had once commented on his football jersey, but other than that, she never talked about him. He didn't seem like the type to be into drinking and marijuana, but she called him anyways.

On the last day of school, he had written his phone number under his signature in her yearbook.

"Hello?" said Sandler, picking up his phone.

His voice sounded gruff, like he had just woken up.

"Hey, Sandler," she said cheerily. "It's J Castle."

"Oh, hey," he said. "What's up? You've never called me before."

Sandler had hung out with the same group of friends she and Jess had, but they weren't actually friends per se.

"Yeah," she said nonchalantly. "I was just wondering if you wanted to meet up today."

"Sure but, why?" he asked.

She twirled a strand of hair around her index finger. "Just to talk. You seemed cool."

"Alright. I'll come pick you up and we can walk to the park?" he said.

She could hear him rummaging around in his drawers, no doubt just getting dressed now.

"Sounds great!" she said, hanging up.

Ten minutes later, the intercom buzzed. She pressed the button. "Be right down," she said into the speaker.

Daniel stood in the lobby wearing a rumpled polo shirt and khakis. He still had bed head and you could smell his Axe from across the room. He lifted his hand in greeting.

"Hey," he said, taking her hand. "I was surprised to get your call."

She jerked her hand back, already deciding that she didn't like him. "Yeah, yeah. It's not a date, I just wanted to talk to you about something," she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the building.

"Whatever you say, babe," he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

She groaned and rolled her eyes.

Frank made a move to stop her from leaving, but backed off when she gave him a Jackson.

When they reached the first street bench she saw, she stopped. "Sit," she commanded him.

"Sure, babe," he said, sitting down on the dirty wood bench.

"Don't call me babe," she snapped. "I'm going to make this quick," she said, pacing in front of the bench. "Did you know Jess Donohough?"

"Yeah, she was hot," said Sandler.

"Well, she's dead," said Johanna angrily.

"Oh," said Sandler, frowning. "Sorry."

Johanna shook her head. "Did you two ever hang out before?"

"Yeah," Sandler said. "Once."

"When?"

"Uhhh… a couple years ago. We went to the same charity ball and we danced together."

"Was that the only time?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "What's this about?"

"You didn't meet her last night?"

He hesitated, glancing around. "No."

"So what _were_ you doing last night?"

"Homework," he responded. "Wait…"

She stopped pacing and stared at him, her hands on her hips.

"You don't think I killed her did you?" he asked incredulously.

Johanna ran her fingers through her hair. "I never said that. I'm just trying to get the facts together, Sandler."

He nodded. "Why are you asking me?"

She sighed. "Because your last name is Warner and someone with that last name is somehow connected to her death."

He stood up. "So you _do _think I killed her!"

Johanna panicked. She put her hands on his shoulders and forced him to sit again. "I never said that."

"But you inferred it!"

"I don't think you killed her, y'know why?"

"Why?"

"Because Jess would never go out with someone as sleazy as you," she retorted. The real reason she thought that Sandler wasn't the murderer was because he was far too small to be able to lift Johanna high enough to hang her from a shower curtain; but she didn't tell him that.

He scoffed, taking offense to this offhand comment. He moved to leave. "This is the worst date ever!"

She grabbed his arm. "Wait."

"What?" he said.

"Do you have an older brother?" she asked, tilting her head.

He squinted at her. "Yeah."

"Samuel?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Where was he last night?" asked Johanna.

He shrugged. "I dunno… he was out."

She nodded and released her iron grip. "Thanks," she said.

He glared at her and ran off down the street.


	4. Chapter 4

Johanna had heard a lot of things about Sam Warner. How many of those things were actually true, she could only guess.

But based on those rumors, he would be the perfect killer in this scenario.

She heard that he liked to date younger girls and persuade the naïve to try different drugs with him. He hung out with a small group of freshmen commonly called "the Stoners" for good reasons.

One of her friends, Bethany, had been asked out by Sam last year. Not knowing his story, she had agreed. They met in a deserted park at night and he had offered her E. When she had said no, he got aggressive and Bethany had to call her mom to get her.

Sam was almost always high at school. The teachers either didn't realize it, or didn't care; always turning the other way. His after school activities included detention and soccer, when he wasn't in the latter. He was quite the soccer player, from what she had heard.

Sam was predictable, so Johanna had no problem locating him. He and the other Stoners were in the east corner of Central Park, lighting up. There were five guys, including Sam, and three girls. They all shivered and clutched their joints in between their middle and index finger.

She walked briskly towards them, glancing around her. She didn't want to be seen hanging out with the Stoners. If anyone saw her, it would be all over Page Six by tomorrow that the daughter of Richard Castle was a druggie.

It was cold out, so she zipped her jacket up to her neck and pulled her wool scarf tighter around her. "What's up, guys?" she nodded to them. Her plan was to be friendly with them, maybe seduce Sam into giving up information, but not compromise her reputation.

They all stared at her as if saying, 'What's this preppy goody-goody doing here?'

"Can I have one?" she asked, grimacing.

One of the girls, a tall goth, reached into her coat pocket and handed her the pack.

She dug one out and one of the guys lit it for her. "Thanks," she said, putting her lips to it, but not inhaling. Smoking disgusted her. It smelled horrible and gave you wrinkles on top of a billion other health issues.

"You're J Castle, right?" said the boy who lit her joint.

She smiled. "Yeah."

"I've heard about you," said Sam, speaking for the first time since she arrived.

"I've heard about you too," Johanna said sweetly.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked, moving closer to her.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I got bored, I guess. Wanted a change of scenery."

Sam was too close now, his shoulder brushed against hers. He smelled like a dirty sock, his red plaid shirt was rumpled and stained. "That's cool. I always took you as a good girl, J Castle," he said, his voice low.

Johanna moved away, ever so slightly. His stench was making her gag. "You have no idea," she said quietly.

Sam grinned. "You wanna get outta here?" he asked.

"Love to," she said with a fake smile.

He wrapped his arm around her waist, making her flinch. He said goodbye to his friends and he led them over to the south fountain.

"So," said Johanna, "what were you up to last night?"

"Oh, y'know, the usual," he said.

"And that is…"

"Just hung out at the park," said Sam, stopping at the fountain and sitting on the edge.

She sat next to him and crossed her legs. "How long do you usually stay here?"

"Why?" he asked, cocking his head.

"It's been really cold recently," she said, quickly making up an excuse.

He laughed. "We don't care as long as we have a warm joint in our hands."

She smirked, which he took as a flirtatious smile.

He scooted closer to her. "You should hang with us more."

"I'd like that," she nodded, leaning into him. Her mom had told her that she sometimes used a flirty angle to get information from her male suspects. "Never failed," Kate had said.

She traced a circle on Sam's knee. "What time do you guys come here?"

"I usually come after practice at 6 and stay until midnight," he said, staring at her hand on his knee.

What time had her dad said that Jess was killed? She didn't think he had said, but according to Jess's diary, she was meeting SW at 10. If Sam really was at the park until midnight, that ruled him out as a suspect. But until she knew for a fact that he was in the park last night, she didn't have any leverage.

"That's all I need," she said, jumping up.

He squinted at her. "What?"

"Nice talking to you!" she said, already running away from him. When she reached the outside of the park, she shuddered. Just being near Sam Warner made her feel filthy.

Johanna lifted the collar of her jacket and sniffed. Ugh, she reeked of pot.

She felt dejected as she walked to the loft. Sam fit the clues from Jess's diary! Mr. and Mrs. Donohough definitely wouldn't like their daughter hanging around Sam, the Stoner. And he would have access to marijuana, no doubt. She made a mental note to check into his alibi.

In the meantime, she'd have to find a way to get in touch with Seth Warner. He was way older than her, so there was no possibility of any of her friends having his number. But, according to deductive reasoning, Seth had to be the SW Jess was with the night she died.

She dialed her dad as she pushed the door of the loft open and went into her bathroom to take a shower to get the Sam stench off of her.

"Hey, pumpkin," answered her dad.

"Hi, Daddy!" she said.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Did you and mom find out who SW is yet?" she asked.

"Not yet, we're working on it," he said. "Why? Did you find something."

"SW is Seth Warner, junior," she said proudly.

"I see," said her dad, a hint of skepticism in his voice, "and how do you know this?"

She paused, realizing that she was supposed to be in the loft all afternoon. "Intuition."

"I can't get an arrest warrant for this Seth kid unless I have some proof," he said, not looking to get her into trouble.

"Deductive reasoning. There are three boys with SW initials, and the first two have alibis."

"Are they solid?"

"What?"

"Did you check into their alibis?"

"No, but…" she sighed. "Can you put mom on the phone?"

"She's in an interrogation right now-"

Kate grabbed the phone from him. "Hi sweetheart."

"Hi, Mom. I know who the killer is, but Daddy won't listen to me," she complained.

"I'm sure you do," she said. "So who is it?"

"Seth Warner," Johanna replied. She filled her in on the details she had come up with.

Kate covered the mouthpiece. "Go pick up Seth Warner," she whispered to Esposito as her daughter talked.

Espo tapped Ryan and they both grabbed jackets and left the precinct.

Beckett jotted notes down on a legal pad. "And you're _sure _about the other two SW's?"

Johanna shrugged. "I'd check into their alibis first just to be positive, but Seth is a safe bet."

"Beckett, are you actually going to arrest this boy based off of what a thirteen-year-old says?" asked Rick when she hung up.

Beckett smirked and leaned back in her chair. "Have a little faith in your kid, Castle. She _does _have your brains."

He stood up and put his hands on the arms of her chair. "Johanna has _my _right side brain; she has your left."

"Meaning?" she asked, curious to hear the latest Castleism.

"She has my creative side and your logical side, the question is which side is dominant," he replied.

Beckett stared at him for a moment.

Rick realized how much Johanna was like Kate; cunning and deceitful, but always able to steal people's hearts.

"Left side," they said in unison.


	5. Chapter 5

Beckett sat across from Seth Warner in the interrogation room. He was tall with dark skin and spiked-up hair. He sat straight in his chair and had his hands folded in his lap.

According to Ryan and Espo, he had cooperated fully during the arrest; saying "Yes sir," and "I understand, sir". He looked like an upstanding kid.

Seth's record was another story. He had several B&Es and misdemeanors. He even had one battery charge back in '08. According to his file, he had severe bipolar disorder and most of the charges were dropped because of it.

"Do you know why you're here?" asked Beckett. Castle sat in the chair next to her, twiddling his thumbs. She could feel him staring intently at her, like he always did. By now, she should have gotten used to it, but she always knew when he was studying her. He had finished the last Nikki Heat novel years ago, but he still stuck around for the thrill.

Seth tilted his head. "It's about Jess, isn't it?"

This took Beckett by surprise. "Yes, actually, it is."

Seth nodded, biting his upper lip. "I know the drill here," he said, leaning forward. "You want my alibi."

"That's right," said Castle.

"I don't have one," said Seth.

Beckett raised an eyebrow.

"Because I was with Jess last night," Seth said solemnly.

Beckett took this as a confession. "I'm going to read you your rights-"

"I didn't say I killed her!" he interjected. "I just said I was _with _her last night."

"So what _were _you doing at Marlowe?" asked Beckett.

"Just… talking," said Seth, quietly staring at the mirror.

Castle scoffed. "Yeah, sure you were. And you didn't smoke any marijuana?"

Seth peered at him. "What? No! I don't do that stuff. I know my record looks bad, but I would never do that. My dad was an addict, and I will never go down that road; I see where it leads."

Beckett pushed the photocopies of Jess's diary entries towards him. "Then why does she say that you're bringing 'Molly'?"

Seth studied the pictures and gave them back to her. "Look, this is a misunderstanding," he sighed.

"Is it now?" asked Beckett.

Seth nodded. "Molly is my dog."

Beckett rolled her eyes.

"It's true!" Seth insisted.

"So you and Jess met at Marlowe in the middle of the night and you brought your dog. And you were just _talking_," Beckett recounted.

"That's right," said Seth.

"What are you doing preying on a thirteen-year-old girl? Can't you get someone your own age?" said Castle. He was disgusted by Seth, thinking 'That could have been Johanna'.

Seth stared at him. "Oh," he said with a slight smile. "You think-" he laughed.

Castle and Beckett glanced at each other.

"Jess is my sister!" said Seth.

"Jess doesn't have any siblings," said Beckett. She had reviewed Jess's file many times, and she was positive that Jess didn't have a brother.

"Our parents remarried when we were young. They didn't want Jess and I to know about each other because it didn't end well with them. Somehow, Jess found out and confronted her mom about it. She had no idea that her 'dad' was her stepdad," he shook his head. "I had no idea either."

Castle's jaw dropped. "This is like an episode of All My Children!" he whispered giddily to Beckett.

She wasn't so convinced. "Do you have papers to prove it?"

Seth nodded. "That was the only reason I believed her at first, she came up to me at school, handed me the documents, and just walked away. We started hanging out in secret after that."

"Your parents had no idea?" asked Castle.

"Her mom did, and she wasn't happy about it. She told Jess that I was just as much trouble as my dad," said Seth. "She was bitter because my dad left her."

Beckett paused. "We'll have to check into those papers…"

"Of course," said Seth.

Castle cleared his throat. "Stay in town."

Beckett threw Seth's file on her desk, making Castle jump. "His story checks out. He's Jess's brother. CSU also identified the hair found on the track as dog hair."

"So he's not our killer," Castle stated.

"Not necessarily," said Beckett. "Just because he's her brother doesn't mean he didn't kill her."

"What would be his motive then?" asked Castle.

"He's bipolar. Maybe Jess said she didn't like the Mets and he snapped," said Beckett.

"Do you think Jess's mom could have done it?" Castle asked, reviewing all of the possible suspects because now they were at square on again.

"I've already considered it. Seth said that both of their parents didn't want them to know about the other. Jess blatantly disobeyed her mom so she and Seth could get to know each other."

"Wouldn't that be motive to kill Seth, not Jess?"

Beckett chewed her lip. "Then we should consider Seth's dad. Seth mentioned he was an addict, maybe he still is."

"Can you imagine finding out one day that you have a sibling?" said Castle in amazement.

Beckett picked up her pen and started going over paperwork. "I don't know, Castle, I can see you as being the evil twin type. I could have sworn it was your evil twin I saw the first day we met."


	6. Chapter 6

Seth's father, Benjamin Warner wasn't a hard man to find.

Beckett knocked on the Warner's apartment door. "NYPD!" she shouted.

When there was no response, she nodded to Ryan who kicked in the door. Beckett led them into the room, scanning the room with her gun at the ready. It wasn't necessary because Ben Warner was passed out on the couch.

Esposito knelt down next to him and lightly slapped his face. "Hey! Wake up," he said, taking his pulse. "Heart rate's really low, but it's there."

Back in the precinct, Castle handed Warner a cup of black coffee.

"Thanks," he muttered, taking a huge gulp of it. He shook himself, letting the caffeine wake him up.

Beckett sat in the armchair across from him. "Do you know why you're here?"

Warner shook his head and scraped his hand against the stubble on his jaw. "No clue."

"Your daughter was killed last night," said Castle.

Warner stared at them. "What?" he said, resting his elbows on his knees and squinting at him.

"Where were you between ten and twelve last night?" asked Beckett.

"I don't know what you're talking about-"

"I'm talking about you killing your daughter, Jess Donohough," said Beckett.

Warner shook his head furiously. "There must be a mistake, I don't have a daughter."

"Don't lie; we have the papers to prove it. You and your wife split, separated the kids, and you never told Seth about his real mother or his sister," said Beckett.

"I swear I don't have a daughter! Don't you think I'd know?" said Warner, rubbing his eyes.

"By the state we found you in, I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't know you had a son," said Beckett. "What did you OD on anyways?"

"Xanax," Warner replied. "I've been out for two days."

Castle nodded, "Pills to calm anxiety and stress disorders."

Beckett slid Jess's birth certificate across the table. "This is your signature, is it not?" she pointed to his name.

Warner studied it. "No, it's not." He reached into his pocket and extracted his wallet. He handed her his driver's license. "I've made my A's this way since I learned to write," he pointed to the lowercase A in 'Benjamin' on his license. It was written like you would see it typed on a computer; a hook on the top and a loop on the bottom. Then he pointed to the signature on the certificate. It was written like normal cursive; a small loop with a straight back. "I've never made my A's like this."

Castle looked over Beckett's shoulder as she glanced from the card to the paper. "He's right," she muttered.

"So who signed this?" asked Castle.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Jeff did that to get child support money," said Warner.

"Jeff?" asked Beckett.

"My ex's new husband. He's always looking for easy cash. I wouldn't be surprised if he killed her for the fortune I left her."

"Her fortune?" asked Castle.

"Yes," said Warner. "I left two million to any future child of my ex. She can't use it until she's 18-"

"Unless she dies," finished Beckett.

"Right, in that case, it goes to her guardian," Warner said, taking another sip of his coffee. "I know, I don't look rich." He gestured to himself, dressed in a wife beater and cargos. There were cigarette burns in his shorts and his shoes looked like they were from Walmart.

"You said it, not us," said Castle.

"I'm not, I lost all of my money right after my divorce," said Warner. "I got Seth and my wife got the money."

"Seth thought that Jess was his sister. And he's been reconnecting with her over the past month," Beckett informed him.

"I let Seth do what he wants. But I'm sure Patty Donohough, my ex, is too thrilled that her daughter is hanging out with his type," said Warner.

"She wasn't. They met in secret. Do you know anyone else that might want to kill Jess?" asked Castle.

"I wouldn't know, I've never met her. But I know Patty and Jeff; they're all about the money," said Warner.

Johanna watched the interrogation from the other side of the glass. She was taking shorthand notes on a pad of paper as Benjamin Warner talked.

She couldn't believe that he was using overdosing on Xanax as an alibi; no one could prove how long he was out.

So now Jess's dad was a suspect. She shook her head, Jeff had always seemed sketchy to her; always dismissing Jess like she was just baggage in his real life game of Monopoly. Warner was right; he was way too concerned with his bank numbers.

Her mom and dad stood up. "Thank you, Mr. Warner, we'll be in touch," said Kate.

"In the meantime, don't leave town," said Rick, his signature phrase when they had nothing on a suspect.

Johanna quickly gathered her things before her parents could see her. There was nowhere to hide, so she hid in plain sight. She dropped into her mom's desk chair and put her feet up on the desk, pretending to play with her hair. "Oh, hey Mom!" she said nonchalantly.

Her mom pushed her shoes off of the desk and sat on the edge of it. Her dad sat in his usual chair next to the desk. "Save it, Johanna, we knew you were listening," said Kate.

"Who let you in?" asked her dad.

"Uncle Esposito," said Johanna.

"What did I do?" Espo asked as he approached them with a file. "Hey, J," he said giving her a fist bump.

"Hey, Uncle Esposito," said Johanna with a sigh. She had been caught red handed.

Esposito gave Beckett the file.

"What's that?" asked Johanna, peering over her mom's shoulder as she opened it.

Beckett snapped it shut before she could see too much. "Jeffery Donohough's info." She and Rick stood. "Let's go," she said, tossing the folder onto the desk to put her coat on.

Espo went to alert Ryan of their departure.

Johanna hopped up. "Can I come?"

Kate smiled at her daughter. "No way, it's too dangerous."

"Why not?" said Castle, putting his arm around her. "I rode along with you for years and you were never overly concerned for my safety!"

Kate glared at him. "She's thirteen, Rick."

"But she reads Seventeen," he retorted.

"C'mon, Mom, please? I can be a civilian investigator like Daddy!" said Johanna. She and Rick both gave her puppy dog eyes.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Fine."

Johanna and Rick high fived.

Kate gave her a stern look. "But you have to stay in the car."

Johanna crossed her heart and followed them out of the precinct.

The cruiser screeched to a stop in front of a fancy looking apartment building. There were iron balconies hanging from the higher stories that grew ivy and white flowers that wound around the rungs. There was a green tent-like overhang from the sidewalk to the front entrance. A doorman stood at attention, opening car doors for tenants toting shopping bags and lap dogs.

Kate unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to Johanna who was in the back seat. "Stay here," she commanded.

Johanna rolled her eyes.

Kate climbed out, but Castle stared intently at her. "I mean, it don't move," he said sternly. He secretly knew that she wouldn't listen; she was his daughter after all.

"I won't!" she said. "Go!" she said, shooing him out of the car.

He reluctantly followed behind Ryan and Esposito. Before he left Johanna's line of sight, he put his middle and index fingers to his eyes and pointed them back at her.

She stuck her tongue out at him and he turned on his heel and hurried after them.

She sat in the stalled car, shivering in the cold. She blew into her hands to keep them warm and leaned over the front seat, peering up at the tall building.

The team gathered around apartment door number 417. Beckett pounded the door with her fist. "NYPD!" she shouted.

There was no response, but they could hear shuffling inside.

Beckett nodded to Ryan and she, Esposito, and Castle pressed their backs to the walls, their guns up. Ryan backed up and kicked the door in, sending splinters from the frame flying.

"NYPD!" they all shouted besides Castle, who yelled "NY!"

Beckett swept her gun over the area. "Clear," she said to the team.

The rest of them moved onto the next room while she did some snooping. There was a small table next to the door that held a bowl of keys and a basket of recent mail. She sifted through the mail and pulled out a bank notice. It was a withdrawal of two million from the bank account of Jessica A. Donohough and a deposit of the same amount to the account of Jeffery P. Donohough.

She handed it to Castle to look at when Ryan yelled from the kitchen.

"Hey! He's getting away!"

Beckett ran into the kitchen and over to where Ryan was standing at the window. She leaned out and saw Jeff Donohough escaping down the fire ladder.

"Send backup to the street," Beckett told Ryan. She grabbed onto the window sill and swung one of her legs out, latching it onto the nearest ladder rung and following Donohough.

She heard Ryan yell commands into his walkie talkie as she descended at an amazing pace down the ladder. They were at least ten stories up; a fall from this height would surely leave one paralyzed.

Donohough was moving at a more careful pace than she, so within seconds she was above him.

In panic, he reached up, grabbed her ankle, and pulled.

She lost her footing and she grappled for a hold on the rung. At the last second, her fingers found purchase; but she was now hanging above the city street by four fingers. She looked down, filled with a sense of vertigo. She gasped, reaching her other hand up to grab the rung. She barely managed to get her feet under her when Donohough reached the ground and took off running.

Johanna was preoccupied braiding a small strand of hair behind her ear. She was lounging behind the wheel of the police car, her feet on the dashboard, humming Adele's song, Skyfall, from an old James Bond movie. That was when he recognized Jeff Donohough, running from the building.

"Hey!" she shouted, sitting up in her seat. He was running straight at her!

Jeff reached the car and pulled at the handle of the driver side door. "Move over," he barked at her, shoving her shoulder.

She saw a glimpse of a gun handle in his belt loop, so she obliged, scooting over the divider between the driver and passenger seats.

Her mom had left the keys in the ignition to keep the heat on, so all Jeff had to do was shift from park to drive.

Johanna stole glances at him out of the corner of her eye. "Where are you taking me?"

He looked at her. "I'm going to let you out at the stoplight, but you'll say nothing about this, understand? Or else…" he pulled back his jacket and revealed his gun.

She nodded, "I understand." In one swift movement, she reached into the glove box and pulled out the spare piece her mom kept there.

Jeff froze as she raised the gun to his temple.

"Pull over," she commanded.

He slowed the cruiser and eased out of traffic to the side of the road.

"Put your hands up," said Johanna.

He kept his hands on the wheel, staring straight ahead.

She clicked the safety off of the gun. It was heavy and unfamiliar in her hands, but Johanna had seen her mom handle plenty of guns when she went with her to the shooting range. "Put your hands up!" she repeated.

This time, he raised his hands slowly to the roof of the car.

She didn't move her eyes from his, making sure he didn't try anything. She groped under his jacket and removed the gun from his belt. Still keeping the gun at his forehead, she tucked his into the back of her jeans.

"I will shoot you," she warned as she went into the glove box again and retrieved a pair of handcuffs.

He nodded, swallowing loudly. "You're that Castle kid, aren't you? You're Jess's friend."

"I _was_," she said, "before you killed her."

He blinked rapidly. "I-"

"You have the right to remain silent, Mr. Donohough," she pushed the gun against his back as she leaned over him to open his door. "Get out," she ordered.

He edged himself out of the car and she followed after him.

People stared at them as they passed, but didn't seem overly concerned at the sight of a little girl pushing a gun into a man's back. It was New York City, after all; they'd seen weirder.

"On your knees," she said, tapping the back of his leg with her shoe.

Jeff knelt on the ground with his hands on his head.

Johanna set the gun down on the sidewalk and slapped the one end of the cuffs on his left arm and the other to the door handle of the cruiser.

It took all of her will to keep from squealing and jumping up and down as she dialed her mother. "Hi, Mom, I bet you're wondering where your car is…"


	7. Chapter 7

Johanna sat chewing her thumbnail at her mom's desk while her parents were in interrogation. Uncle Esposito had been assigned as her "baby-sitter" so she didn't get into any more trouble. He was leaning sideways in his chair, fingering the little elephant figurines on the desk.

She ran her fingers distractedly over the nameplate on the desk. "Captain Beckett," it said. She never understood why her mom never changed her last name when she got married.

Johanna sighed. "Uncle Espo, can I _please _watch the interrogation?"

Esposito shook his head and turned the smallest elephant over in his hands. "Sorry, kiddo. I'm just following your mom's orders."

She snatched the figure from him and set it back down. "But don't you think that I should be able to sit in on it, considering I was the one who caught him?"

When her mom had finally made it to where Johanna was holding Jeff Donohough, she was livid. Kate had shaken her by the shoulders and said, "What the hell were you thinking; you could have been shot!"

Johanna was about to say, "His gun was on safety the whole time!" but she didn't get a chance to before her mom crushed her in a tight hug.

"I'm just relieved that you're okay," Kate said to her.

She had expected her mom to be ecstatic that she had caught the perp all by herself, but Kate was more concerned for her well being than her kick ass crime fighting skills.

Esposito shook his head.

Johanna sat back in the chair and pouted. "Can I at least play with your gun?" she asked hopefully.

He stared at her. "And do what with it?"

She shrugged. "I dunno… shoot stuff. What else do you do with a gun?"

He blinked rapidly and shook his head. "You're scaring me, kid. You're really scaring me."

Her parents entered the office.

"He's not the killer," said Kate, putting Jeff's file in the desk drawer.

"What?!" said Johanna and Espo in unison.

"His alibi checks out," said Rick, "he was at the office during the time of death."

"He could have hired someone to kill her," said Johanna.

Kate turned to Javi. "Have tech look into his phone and email records to see who he's been in contact with recently."

"Something doesn't quite fit here," said Castle, "Jeff Donohough had plenty of money to begin with; what's two million to him? That would barely make a dent in his bank account."

"Money is money," said Beckett, "and all he wants is more of it."

"Maybe he just lost a lot in Vegas," said Johanna, half jokingly.

"He lost…" Castle mumbled, trailing off.

"I was kidding-"

Castle snapped his fingers together. "Who do we know lost all of his money in a divorce?"

"Benjamin Warner," said Beckett. She gasped, catching on. "You're not saying that he-"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," said Castle.

Esposito and Johanna glanced at each other.

"Mind telling us what the heck you're talking about?" said Esposito.

"Jess really is Benjamin Warner's dad, and he knew about it. He left two million in a trust fund for her when she was born," said Beckett, biting her thumb nervously.

Johanna was slowly beginning to understand where she was going. "He didn't know that he'd lose all of his money in the divorce, so now he's broke and-"

"Warner killed his Jess to get a cut of the two million since he was legally still a guardian," finished Esposito.

Beckett dragged Benjamin Warner into the precinct in handcuffs. His head was bowed, knowing that he had been caught.

Johanna glowered at him as he walked past, thinking, _that son of a bitch killed my best friend_.

She watched solemnly from behind the glass as her mom pulled a confession out of him.

"Did you kill Jessica Donohough?" asked Kate.

Johanna bit into her lip as he nodded his head and said, "Yes."

Her mom stood up and read Warner his rights.

Everything else happened in a fog. Johanna thought that solving Jess's death would make it easier on her, but it didn't. It just left her with a hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach and the realization that her friend was gone forever. All because Benjamin Warner wanted his cut of two million.

Jess's life should have been worth so much more than that. Two million was _nothing_. You can't put a price on a friend like Jess.

Esposito must have noticed her glum stare. "Hey kid," he said.

She stared blankly into the now empty interrogation room. "Hi," she muttered.

He stood next to her.

She leaned up against the wall and turned her head away from him.

Esposito crossed his arms and did the same. "Look, I know that this is not going to make you miss Jess any less… but you did a good thing today."

She looked at him. "How do you do this every day?" she asked.

He sighed. "Look, Johanna. Being a cop is the most rewarding job on the planet. You help others, you get an adrenaline rush when you catch the bad guy, but at the end of the day, you realize that someone who someone else cared about is dead. That person was someone's mom or dad or sister or brother… or best friend. And that's what makes it so hard."

She nodded.

"It's so hard when it's someone _you _know that's on the murder board," Esposito continued. "But closing the case is your closure. When it's over, that's when you say, 'Okay, it's done, move on. There's nothing more for you to do.' Nothing you do can bring that person back. As my mom used to say, c'est la vie; that's life."

Johanna forced a small grin. "Your mom never said that, she's Hispanic."

"And Hispanics can't speak French words of wisdom?" he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

That made her laugh. "Thanks, Uncle Espo."

He smiled. "Anytime, kid."


End file.
